Dec 3, 2017 12:11 PM

CS took my original cover just fine. The only difference in the new cover is some minor image editing. No change in size of doc,, # of pixels, etc.

I flattened the file, did a "save as" Photoshop PDF (PDF, PDP) and it did save as a pdf.

(Selected ICC Profile RGB was checked)

Got message: The settings you choose in the save Adobe PDF dailog can over-ride your current settings in the save-as dialog box.

(no option except to click okay.)

Next screen choices I made:

Save Adobe PDF

High Qualiyt Print,

Standard: (None)

Compatibility Adobe 5 (PDF 1.4)

Options checked:

optimize for fast web preview

I tried uploading in both Chrome (flash is enabled) and Internet Explorer. Same error message. Should I have saved some other way? I did change the curves and lighten the object. I think I was working in something called Pro-Photo RBG.

Thanks, You are correct. The file does not open in Adobe Reader. Says file is damaged & couldn't be repaired. I downloaded and used a pdf repair kit but got an error message: "Incorrect Channel Count. Must be from 1 to 24." Google advice says to try to fix with an Hex editor.

Just go back to your original Photoshop file, flatten it again, save it as PDF again and hope that everything is okay the second time. Don't even waste your time attempting to repair a corrupted PDF file. Sometimes things can happen when saving a file. There may have been a voltage dip or increase in your home electricity while the file was being saved, there could be a thousand different reasons why your PDF is corrupted.

If you're having problems, I would make a JPG of the cover (keep the multi-layered original, make a copy), then convert/save as PDF. I love the HighQuality preset, but that's my thing. I would use either PDF/X-3 or PDF/X-1a. The latter is the most conservative printing related preset, and it will also conver all color to CMYK. This might be a okay, it might not be: depends on your art work.

I would not optimize for fast web preview.

Also, I would convert and tag the art as sRGB, not ProPhoto RGB. I doubt that CS has profiles for it . . . and how ever they convert the image, you can bet something will be lost. Convert to sRGB and work on the image. CS does a good job emulating sRGB. ProPhotoRG has an extremely large gamut, apparently approaching 90% of Lab, which, if true, certainly could be problematic.

Not sure how to phrase this, but is what I see in Adobe Reader what I'll get when CS prints my book?

Probably pretty much. But, it's possible that your monitor is really messed up. After you save the PDF in Photoshop the resultant PDF SHOULD look pretty much exactly like it did in Photoshop, in fact, it should look exactly the same. My book covers always do.

Most monitors are way too bright and in general: transmitted light images (monitor, slides, etc.) are inherently brighter than reflected light images (print). Which means that shadow detail that appears just about right on a too bright monitor can plug up/disappear when printed. Highlight details often disappear on monitors . . . but for most people it's the shadow detail that is the greater loss.

I may have recommended printing out your art, if not, I'm doing so now. Your inkjet printer is CMYK, so you'll get a reasonable idea of what happens when you go from RGB (most art work) to CMYK (the process colors used in commercial printing). You'll also see what happens to your shadow detail. In a very general sense, your printer will do a better job showing you how your images will look than your monitor. Monitors are often out of calibration, yet another compounding issue.

So lets say your image prints too dark. You can use Curves (prefered) or levels to adjust the overall brightness of an image. And with masks and/or selection you can work on individual areas. Curves are usually better than levels in that they are more adjustable and less even overall. Almost all images have a white and black point, even if it's just a pixel or two. With the white point and black point selectors click on the repective places (you can use Threshold to locate the exact places and mark them with guidelines). Then you can adjust the midtones. Sometimes I'll make a merged layer (in Photoshop: Shift Control Alt E), and keep working from such layers,

Sharpening can often help. Here too you can work both overall and selectively. I often use several methods (unsharp mask (1-2 px, 150-300%), hiraloam (high radius, 10-12px, low amount, 40-60%), emboss, high pass filter). I will do these on separate layers, and use the opacity slider to tweak things (often as low as 2%). Sometimes you can sharpen an image by adjusting unwanted/wanted colors.

Obviously much of this is destructive to the original image. Always have copies. Always work on copies. When you flatten an image, there will be color shifts. Print things out. Compare.

If you've never done this sort of thing, it may sound complicated. It isn't. It can be a guessing game . . . what will work, what won't. And it can take time. It is probably safe to say that with the rarest of exceptions, no image is better in print than in the original. Printing compresses images, so anything you can do to create the illusion of a more natural gamma curve and range is helpful. With film, again speaking generally and simplistically (the numbers are from memory), where the luminance range a noon could be 10,000 lumens, film captures 200, photo paper 100 lumens. The goal, then is to create the illusion of the original spread.

It could well be a monitor problem. Forgot to mention that my PS 3 software is on another computer (older with no internet) so I transfer the pdf to a thumb drive and open it on my newer computer to view it. Neither monitor is calibrated. So I am probably comparing apples to oranges!

I lightened again, opened my latest image in Adobe Reader and was fairly happy with it so I uploaded it to CS. Hopefully, they have no issues with it.

Now that i'm not having pdf issues, I think I will go ahead and try some of Waltons's advanced lightening ideas with Curves.

I was fairly happy with my last pdf preview on Adobe Reader, and uploaded it. Hopefully, CS reviewer will okay it!

I had used curves to lighten the image, but as a beginner, I only knew enough to drag the curve to the left. I will print out and pactice your more advanced curves method and give it a try, You are wonderful to give so freely of your time to us newbies!